An Excel­lent Primer On Obama’s Social­ist Polit­i­cal Phi­los­o­phy

The author of the new political thriller The Eagle Has Crashed and the publisher of the always interesting The Country Thinker blog, Ted Lacksonen was kind enough take the time out of his busy schedule promoting his own novel to review Never Allow A Crisis To Go To Waste:

Sum­mon­ing the famous quote from for­mer white House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Bart DePalma’s recently released book Never Allow a Cri­sis to Go to Waste: Barack Obama and the Evo­lu­tion of Amer­i­can Social­ism is an explo­ration of the devel­op­ment and cur­rent state of social­ism in Amer­ica, as well as a pow­er­ful argu­ment that the pres­i­dent of the United States is in fact a social­ist. As the title sug­gests, DePalma clas­si­fies Obama as a social­ist, the protes­ta­tions to the con­trary through­out the media notwithstanding.

Like any lawyer, DePalma knows that the def­i­n­i­tions mean every­thing in lan­guage, so he first had to define the term “social­ism” before draw­ing his conclusion—a tricky process he com­pares to “herd­ing cats.” He makes a dis­tinc­tion between “clas­si­cal social­ism” and its newer incar­na­tion “asym­met­ric social­ism.” The lat­ter had its ori­gins in the writ­ings of social­ist writ­ers such as Andre Gorz, and it rep­re­sents the pre­dom­i­nant gov­ern­ing style of the Obama admin­is­tra­tion. Any dis­pute as to whether Obama is a social­ist turns on whether “asym­met­ric social­ism” is social­ism, as DePalma con­vinc­ingly makes the case that the pres­i­dent is a social­ist of this stripe.

All in all Never Allow a Cri­sis to Go to Waste is an excel­lent primer on Obama’s social­ist polit­i­cal phi­los­o­phy. It is extra­or­di­nar­ily well-​​researched, and any­one active in present-​​day pol­i­tics would be well-​​served to read it…

Never Allow a Cri­sis to Go to Waste is a book for the polit­i­cally active to read and under­stand, and ulti­mately, to buy a copy for their friends an neigh­bors who have fallen for the media’s claim that Obama is a cen­trist or run-​​of-​​the-​​mill liberal.

Please go to the link above to read all of Mr. Lacksonen’s lengthy review.

The Rise Of Asymmetric Socialism

Andrew S. Rogers is an Amazon Vine Voice, top 1000 ranked consumer book reviewer and self described free-market anarchist.

Mr. Rogers was kind enough take the time to offer an in-depth review of Never Allow A Crisis To Go To Waste for Amazon:

“Socialist,” like “fascist,” has become a political smear-word for labeling (or libeling) ideological opponents. It’s critical to recognize, therefore, that Bart DePalma’s excellent “Never Allow a Crisis to Go to Waste” is emphatically not a rightwing screed in which “socialism” is code for “anything I don’t like” and “socialist” means “anyone who disagrees with me.” Instead, it is a legitimate, honest, non-polemical, and well-sourced review of the philosophical and economic theories that have come to flower in the policies and tactics of the Barack Obama administration…

The other reason “Never Allow…” is a superior book is the thoroughly documented history the author brings to the table. While Olson’s analysis emphasized Alinsky, DePalma goes back further to thinkers and strategists like Andre Gorz, Peter Dreier, Walter Rathenau, and Michael Harrington to trace the specific influences that influenced The Man for the Season (chapter 4 title), Barack Obama. It’s here where DePalma’s extensive documentation is most impressive: 35 pages of small-type notes and citations source well-selected quotations from the self-described socialists’ own writings. They make it clear how, with specific application to the auto company bailouts, health care, and “green jobs,” Obama is following an explicitly socialist playbook…

[T]o get a handle on the importance, the threat, and the implications of Barack Obama’s “asymmetric socialism,” “Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste” is essential reading. It deserves a very wide audience.

Please go to the link above to read all of Mr. Rogers’ review.

The Rise Of Citizen Resistance To Obama’s Policies

David Hoffman is a top Amazon reviewer and the publisher of the insightful David’s Commonplace Book blog.

I would like to thank him for his kind review of my book Never Allow A Crisis To Go To Waste, a portion of which is excerpted below:

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this book since I felt a little down on politics when I began reading it. I quickly became interested, almost in spite of myself and by the time I was halfway through it I couldn’t put it down, (or couldn’t turn off my kindle). Never Allow a Crisis to go to Waste is not just another Obama-bashing book, nor does Bart DePalma attempt to psychoanalyze Barak Obama, as others have tried to do. Rather, he shows the connections between Obama’s politics and policies are related to the history of Socialism in America…

DePalma shows that by his inclinations, education and past associations, Barak Obama works firmly in the tradition of asymmetric socialism. Where possible he has increase government ownership of business, in the automobile industry. Where not possible, he has used regulation to increase government control of the economy, which provides the benefits of ownership without the troubles, or unpopularity.

This would be a depressing book indeed, if DePalma ended it on that note, but in the final two chapters, he chronicles the rise of citizen resistance to Obama’s policies in the form of the TEA Party protests and the Republican victories in the 2010 elections.

I never liked depressing endings.

If You Only Have Room For One Book

After traveling the ideological road from Democrat to Libertarian, Andrew Zarowney writes for Townhall.com and RightPundits.com, and was kind enough to take the time to write a review of Never Allow A Crisis To Go To Waste:

If you only have room in your abode, or survival ′go-bag′, for one book about the origins of the housing-financial crisis and the role Barack Obama played in it, then this is THE book!…

DePalma takes us from the early days of the SDS, through the intellectual babble from folks like Andre Gorz, Saul Alinsky, Peter Dreier, Cloward and Piven. From the intimidation tactics against banks by ACORN through the federal government′s monster of the Community Reinvestment Act. It all adds up to demonstrate why Barack Obama is indeed a Socialist.

The book covers a lot of ground, including the Wall Street bailouts, the nationalization of the banks and automobile industry and Obama′s abuse of the White House czar positions. Whether its ′Car Czar′ Ron Bloom or ′Green Jobs Czar′ Van Jones, Bart DePalma gives us a front row seat at the table as Barack Obama transforms America into a Socialist Wonderland.